Biography of William BockemuehlSaunders County, NE Biographies

William Bockemuehl, a member of the firm of A. F. Bockemuehl & Company, which conducts a furniture, undertaking
and harness store in Cedar Bluffs, has resided in this county for nearly three decades and is widely and favorably
known. He was born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, on the 11th of July, 1862, of the marriage of Edward and Charlotte
(Goldhammer) Bockemuehl, natives respectively of Prussia and Saxony, Germany. They came to the United States in
childhood with their respective parents and grew to maturity in Wisconsin. They were married in that state and
there resided until their demise, both passing away in 1878. They are buried at Hartford, Wisconsin. The father
was an Evangelical preacher and his labor in the ministry was very effective in advancing the moral progress of
the communities in which he lived. There were eleven children in the family, namely: George and Amelia, both of
whom are deceased; William; Edward, who is living in Albion, Nebraska; August F., who is associated with the subject
of this review in business; William, who died when young; Frank; John; Charlotte; Clara, who is living in Council
Bluffs, Iowa; and Ella, deceased.

William Bockemuehl received his education in the rural schools of Wisconsin and in a high school in Milwaukee.
Following his parents demise he spent a year with a sister who lived in Milwaukee and there learned the harness
maker's trade, which he followed in that city for three years. At the end of that time he removed to Fremont, Nebraska,
where he was similarly employed for two years, after which he went to Kearney, this state. Four years later, in
1887, he came to Cedar Bluffs, where he has since remained. He bought the harness shop owned by D. A. Hopkins,
which he conducted alone for some time but later took into partnership his brother, August F. Bockemuehl. They
then established a furniture and undertaking business in connection with the harness shop and as all of their interests
have been well managed their patronage has increased as the years have passed. They carry a good stock of goods
and aim to give the best service possible, their fair dealing winning them the confidence of the public.

In 1885 Mr. Bockemuehl was united in marriage to Miss Lillian Steele, who was born in Kewanee, Illinois, and they
have six children: Allen, a druggist of Seattle; Fred; Forrest; Mark; Rex; and Evelyn.

Mr. Bockemuehi is a republican and has served efficiently as a member of the town board and of the school board,
giving the same care and thought to the discharge of his official duties that he gives to the management of his
business affairs. Both he and his wife belong to the Presbyterian church, the work of which they further in every
way possible. He is also identified with the Masonic lodge at Cedar Bluffs. in which he has passed through all
of the chairs, and he is likewise connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, of which he has been clerk for
ten years; the Woodmen of the World, of which his brother August F. is clerk; and the Order of the Eastern Star,
of which he has been patron and outside guard and to which his wife also belongs. Along strictly business lines
he holds membership in the Undertakers State Association. His ability, his strict integrity and his agreeable personal
qualities have gained him the respect and the warm esteem of his fellow citizens.